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A place wherein this Dwarven Cleric can share his love of maps, dice, miniatures, and all things involving gaming and general geekery--not to mention the occasional witty non-gaming observations--whilst escaping from the humdrum existence of his routine Terran existence.

Hail and Well Met, fellow traveler! May my Stronghold provide a place for enlightenment and amusement, and somewhere to keep your dice dry. Enter and rest awhile.

04 April 2012

[A to Z April] D is for D'leth Inemas

Both of D’leth’s parents died when she was very young and she was raised in a far away village by human friends of her parents. Even though it was one of the founding families of the village, her step-family was viewed with suspicion by others for the adoption, as elves in general were disliked and distrusted by the villagers. The villagers’ feelings influenced the family’s six other children who resented and distrusted her elvish blood and used to bully and harass her, unbeknownst to her adoptive parents. Her upbringing has left her with a soft spot for the downtrodden and orphans.

Her elvish background means that she has already outlived both of her adoptive parents, her step-siblings, and most of her nieces and nephews. The youngest of her brothers called her to his death-bed hours before he passed; at that time he apologized to her for how she had been treated and let her know that he had talked to all the nieces and nephews as well as the grandchildren. He knew that D’leth was struggling to know what to do with her life; he spent the last few hours of his life sharing his wisdom and stories with D’leth, as he was an aged campaigner and bounty hunter, until he finally fell silent and slipped into eternity. D’leth was holding his hand as he passed. The tales and lessons he shared in the last hours have stuck with D’leth throughout the years, and she has a story suitable for nearly every occasion. His discussions with the children has made her the favorite grand-aunt to the now-widespread family, always welcome where- and whenever she happens to visit.

D’leth’s path was chosen for her as she was accompanying a caravan heading to the city of Coldtreath. The caravan was attacked by a demon, who quickly dispatched several of those who were hired to lead and defend the caravan. D’leth was forced to take hold of her fear and convert it to a determination to protect not just the members of the caravan, but also those who had fallen in its defense. With the help of a young male human, Scokin Kel, D’leth brought down the monster. The exposure to danger and death D’leth felt left her aware of the living’s tenuous link to life and the importance of protecting the weak and innocent.

With its last breath, the demon implicated the Church of Nynder in Coldtreath with summoning it and instigating the attack for the Church’s benefit. When the caravan limped into the city, D’leth and Scokin immediately went to the Shrine of Nynder to confront the church’s elders and leaders. They found themselves quickly ostracized and forced to leave Coldtreath, labeled trouble-makers, heretics, and blasphemers. They themselves were accused of raising the demon to attack the caravan for the elevation of their own reputations; Scokin Kel’s own half-demonic background was pointed to as evidence of their wrong-doing. As a result of this experience, D’leth now doubts the integrity of any organized religion or its followers. She also seeks to root out injustice and unfairness, as well as the destruction of demon-kind.

D’leth and Scokin Kel wandered through the wilds for the next few years. In spite of Scokin’s half-demonic background (after all, it was not his fault), they become lovers and comrades-in-arms. Over time, they grew apart while still maintaining great affection for each other. They now live separately: D’leth in the wilds around Coldtreath and Scokin Kel in Griefbeet Town (a week’s travel distant). Scokin Kel, crippled by the loss of his left leg in battle and approaching his sixty-fifth year, now traffics in exotic creatures for his living. In his business, he is known to have dealings with several intelligent monstrous creatures. D’leth has occasionally called upon Scokin’s connections to aid her in her fight to protect the weak and innocent.

D’leth’s life experiences have made her quite serious; most of her companions and friends have never seen her laugh. Her dourness and constant warring have left her physically unattractive. Her green eyes are striking and piercing, made even more so by the scarring and weathering of her face and body. She is slightly taller than the average human with dark brown hair cut in a sever, short style framing her face and well above her neck and shoulders. Her arms are covered by unusual tattoos; given to her by a sorcerous artist, the thin inked lines swirl and move around her arms. While obviously magical, these tattoos appear to have no significant effect and seem to be no more than odd. D’leth usually wears her tunic or cloak to conceal these strange tattoos.

@ Grammy: Glad you enjoyed what you read here. Feel free to stop by anytime.

@ Sharkbytes: Thanks for coming by. You're welcome anytime. I didn't think I could do this either, but pulled it off last year. It's a great exercise to get one's creative juices flowing. I'd highly recommend it!

Found you through the A to Z Challenge, and am really enjoying the theme of your blog.

I used to love RPG gaming but sadly don't have the time or consistency to do so anymore. However, I still game on the table top and LOVE to generate all sorts of irrelevant background details to my figures and characters.